SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUl ri. 0<5 



reniemliered that when a prairie is belted round by population, and de 

 pnstured by numerous flocks and herds, its better grasses — at least foi 

 <hee[» — would be soon exterminated, and, consequently, though there 

 mi'j;^ht be ten or fifty thousand acres of common and free pasturage, it 

 would be of trifling avail to the flock-master. 



But taking this privilege for what it is worth, and taking i ito account 

 t'le f^ifference in the price of lands — calling one $1 25, and the other S20 

 per acre— and then, in my judgment, the Eastern will prove cheaper, all 

 things considered, than the prairie lands, for Sheep Husbandry. I speak, 

 of course, of the prairies as wholes — not of that narrow margin of each, 

 wliicli is attached to the farms lying partly on the outer and wooded lands. 



The prairies must tirst be plowed, undoubtedly,* to seed them down ef- 

 fectually with the cultivated grasses. It requires from four to six yoke of 

 oxen, says Mr. Solon Robinson, to break -cp from one to one and a half 

 acres per diem. Supposn we concede this expense to be paid for by the 

 first grain crop used as a covering for the grass ; then the prairies are to 

 be fenced — adequate buildings and other fixtures provided, for the use of 

 a family, the storage of hay, the shelter of animals, &c. Where are the 

 materials for these things and for fuel to be found, on a plain wholly desti- 

 tute of trees, unless on the occasional " islands" — and where stones are 

 entirely wanting, excepting sparsely scattered bowlders, and, very rarely, 

 rocky ridges or cliffs ? Conceding that all the wood on the margins of the 

 prairies will not be wanted for the local supply — which, as a general thing, 

 it undoubtedly will — what would be the cost offences, buildings and fuel, 

 where every stick was transported from three to fifteen milest by land 

 carriage 1 Fuel, it has been said, can be obtained from the local deposi- 

 tions of coal. It is true that Illinois and south-western Indiana, at least, 

 constitute one vast coal basin. But any one possessing the slightest prac- 

 tical acquaintance with the subject, knows that it requires associated, ag- 

 gregate and corporate wealth, to carry on mining operations to an extent 

 sufficient to steadily and efficiently supply a considerable market. Even 

 in a level country where coal is covered with a deep superficial deposi- 

 tion of earth, individuals may, where the stratum is cut through or uncov- 

 ered in ravines or the beds of streams, quan-y their own coal ; but such 

 opportunities are rare. The idea that individuals would find it within the 

 compass of their means to sink vertical shafts and raise coal — each one 

 for himself — on the bosoms of the prairies, is utterly preposterous. Coal 

 has never yet borne a price in our cities, which would justify even Compa- 

 nies in lifting it by vertical shafts. Let the coal, however, be as cheap as 

 it may be, at the points of excavation, the mere cartage of it, for the 

 wants of a five-months winter — where the thermometer frequently indi* 

 cates a degree of cold from 5° to 30° below 0° — will be an onerous tax 

 on agricultural industry. And canals can never furrow the bosoms of 

 most of those vast dry plains ; and ages must elapse before railroads will 

 so interlace them, as to bring coal cheaply within the reach of populati'^u 

 scattered over their entire surfaces. 



li we suppose that adequate buildings can be constructed, with sufii- 



ient economy, with transported timber, the question still remains, What 



esource is there foT fences % Fences of earth have been proposed, but these 



will not stand long enough to pay for building, unless their sides are oon 



fitructed at such an angle as would be wholly inadequate to " turn" sheep. 



Hedges, besides the other considerable expense of cultivating them, would 



' I have cecn it stated thst the seeds of the cultivateil prasses would "catch " sown on the surface oftfait 

 priiiric .°od ! That they would do this etiectually and generally, is an assertion which no practiral fu^iju 

 •ill credit. 



« I'rairics are from one to thirty mDes in diameter. 



